First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Takes $241,000 Position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. purchased a new position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 4,441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $241,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in California Water Service Group by 255.6% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 109.9% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 823 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 90.8% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,349 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 642 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in California Water Service Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $85,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in California Water Service Group during the third quarter valued at $119,000. Institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.09, for a total value of $30,574.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,209,280.59. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

Shares of CWT stock opened at $51.10 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $53.36 and its 200 day moving average is $51.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.77 and a beta of 0.49. California Water Service Group has a 12 month low of $43.50 and a 12 month high of $56.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $299.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $289.55 million. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 19.56%. The company’s revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. California Water Service Group’s payout ratio is presently 32.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company raised California Water Service Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $50.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, California Water Service Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.67.

About California Water Service Group

California Water Service Group, through its subsidiaries, provides water utility and other related services in California, Washington, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Texas. The company is involved in the production, purchase, storage, treatment, testing, distribution, and sale of water for domestic, industrial, public, and irrigation uses, as well as for fire protection services.